<p>I just got back from Explore USC!!</p>
<p>and I need recommendations for housing 
how hard is to to study at new/north?</p>
<p>easy. unless its fri or sat night. and hey youāre a freshmen in New/North you shouldnāt be studying anyways and should be social. If you really do need to study though that is what Leavey is for, which conveniently is 100 yards away and open 24/7. Hope that answers your question.</p>
<p><em>Lived in North Business Floor Freshmen Year, which happened to be the most social floor that year in the most social dorm. Fact not opinion. If you donāt believe me ask about āthe BFLO 06-07ā to current 4th years. Oh, and I also ended first year with a 3.7 GPA.</em></p>
<p>Studying in New/North is easy. If anything, itās quieter in the evening than most of the dorms because itās almost completely empty. Iāve gone to Leavey sometimes just because I focus better in the library, but itās never been necessary.</p>
<p>Pay the extra money for a sink in your room (youāll probably get it if youāve already started your housing application), and youāll be set.</p>
<p>New North.</p>
<p>Okay so ya I definitely want to be pretty social, as well as keep a high GPA.
are there any downsides to New/North?</p>
<p>and which one do you recommend? or is it just one dorm? how does that work?</p>
<p>^ Did you get to see/tour any of the inside? We did very briefly just to see whether its reputation forā¦not being the most aromatic dorm lolā¦held true. Turns out it was pretty true, haha.</p>
<p>Iām considering Birnkrant, Pardee, Marks Tower, and Parkside A&H. The last one is the nicest/newest, but apparently there isnāt any cellular reception, which I donāt think I could handle haha. IRC does though. But both are so far awayā¦</p>
<p>Iām considering Birnkrant because i like being social and the triple option looks greatā¦ but the parkside dorms are looking very attractive right now considering that as an arch major theyād be a lot quicker to get to and fromā¦</p>
<p>From what everyone told me at Trustee Explore, New North is where the parties are.</p>
<p>^ True, but I doubt you have to live at New/North to party there. Most of the other dorms are fairly social as well from what Iāve heard from the residents. N/N is just the MOST social. This was all information from female residents btw; I donāt know if that makes a difference lol.</p>
<p>I heard New/North and Birnkrant are the most social and Parkside IRC is the least.</p>
<p>IF you wanted to rate the dorms on a party school</p>
<ol>
<li> New north
2.
3.
4.
5.</li>
<li>Birnkrant</li>
</ol>
<p>If youre going to rush live in New North</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>No i didnāt get to! I was in every other dorm thoughā¦ could you describe what made it pretty true?</p>
<p>Oooh, New/North is super fun and social, but there are SO many damages that everyone in the building pays for. All my friends in New/North constantly complain about the fees they have to pay for stolen property/destroyed property/general messes/throw up/etcā¦ So while studying isnāt a problem and itās definitely the party dorm, Iād recommend somewhere else (i.e. Birnkrant). Plus, dorm parties are pretty lame after awhile. Only so much you can do there. Hence, the Row and apartment parties! :)</p>
<p>Basically, we just walked through a hallway and right back out the door. The smell was justā¦not that appealing. They were guysā dorms, I think. </p>
<p>I keep hearing Birnkrant is the best from multiple people :/</p>
<p>so whats Birnkrant like on a thursday night?</p>
<p>Who picks a dorm for how well you can party in it? Party in other peopleās dorms. That gives you the option of leaving if you want, plus you donāt have to clean up other peopleās messes.</p>
<p>As Iāve said previously (and will probably say again), Birnkrant triples are the best freshman housing option.</p>
<p>Birnkrant on any given Thursday is a mix of social and studying. There are definitely parties busted here on Thursdayās and many people stumbling back drunk from the row. But thereās also people who will be studying for midterms and getting work done. And thereās people just hanging out here watching a movie or the office/greys anatomy and winding down from the week. Itās a great balance</p>
<p>This thread has been super helpful. thanks guys!</p>
<p>so why do you suggest a triple?</p>
<p>Can anyone give some really detailed opinions on the Parkside Apartments, specifically IRC? Is it really anti-social and far away from other places? The dorms themselves sound great, but supposedly people are anti-social?</p>
<p>Donāt listen to people talking smack on New/North. Those people are people that live in Parkside and are jealous that there are actually people that are social in the dorms. New/North is excellent. The rooms are one of the biggest out of any of the dorms, and bunking the beds just makes it even bigger. It is NOT THAT LOUD, honestly, I do all my work in my dorm room. If it ever does get loud, you can just go to Leavey Library which is 30 seconds away. </p>
<p>There arenāt really ādorm partiesā per say. Itās not like there are open parties where you go crash someoneās dorm room. People have parties in their rooms but mostly among their groups of friends. Also, most of the time dorm partying is pregaming for going out to the Row or a party off-campus. </p>
<p>My two best friends live in Parkside so Iām there a lot, and to be honest, its not all that great. The rooms are long and narrow, so there is hardly any open floor space. The ācommon areaā is more the size of a broom closet. You canāt do anything in it. If you want a living room type, go to Fluor Tower. </p>
<p>You want to be able to meet a lot of kids and make friends, and New/North is the way to do it. Birnkrant is a tight knit group. The people on the floor usually form friend groups and stuff.</p>